


Ashes

by RipJawWolfFang



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Dark, Death, F/F, Female Sole Survivor - Freeform, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-12 09:02:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7928815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RipJawWolfFang/pseuds/RipJawWolfFang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Piper is kidnapped and the vault dweller is badly injured attempting her rescue. What will our raven haired reporter do to save the one she loves?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Heart racing, bombs exploding, bullets flying. The rain fell hard, soaking the slippery, muddy ground. 

Never had the women out of time run so far so fast. Shirt torn, half her armour damaged beyond repair, blood dripping down her arm from an injury she couldn't even feel over the roar of adrenaline that kept her moving. Her whole body ached, pushing well past her limits as she followed her dogs nose through the active battlefield. 

She had to, there was a lot at stake. 

Piper, the journalist, her best friend turned partner was here, somewhere. She had been taken, and likely hurt in the struggle with a particularly well trained raider gang. The sole took off running across half the commonwealth in a storm after her, and the only thing she had in her mind was getting her lover safely back to the city where she could continue to drive the local population to madness with her story's. 

Each breath came heavy and fast, her feet where kicking up water with each step that further slowed her movements. 

She rolled quickly, ducking down behind a wrecked and now flaming car having to take a second to steady her breath before leaning out over the side and firing her plasma rifle up at the raider directly above her, who screamed in agony and fell backwards off of the makeshift building to his death. She was outnumbered, but they where out matched. 

The sole survivor had to move carefully, she couldn't rush in guns blazing because she didn't know where in this building piper was. Thin shack walls did little to stop bullets, and having her friend killed in the cross fire was the worst outcome. 

The weapon gave a few more hot blasts, aimed at enemy's heads as they ran towards her or aimed at her. Each fell in a single shot, though soon she was forced to get up and run again.

Out in the open was absolutely the worst place she could be. Firing off her weapon at close range, with little time to aim left them gaining ground quickly. 

The German shepherd came to her rescue just as one of the raiders begun to close in, leaping up and grabbing his arm giving the woman time to aim and bring him down. Though it wasn't enough, there where still more.

From the roof, another raider sent a bullet flying into her side, sending her to the ground. She quickly scurried behind the nearest sheet of mettle, now gasping in pain and clutching her side. This wasn't going to end well unless she finished them quickly. She took her opportunity and took a stimpac out to inject into her leg then in one fluid movement peered out from around the side and shot the raider on the roof, and one closing in on the ground. 

'Two to go.' She mentally noted, taking a deep breath and waiting for the last gunner on the roof to give away his position. As soon as his head popped up, she took him down. The victory was short lived though as the loud think of power armour closing in made he spin around in surprise. She aimed, fired, and the plasma round burned at the armour but the tall women in the walking tank kept coming at the sole survivor. 

"I'm gonna kill you! You bitch!" She screamed as Nora fired off the rest of the cartridge, 5 shots straight in the head and she didn't even slow. 

Before the raider reached her the vault dweller pulled out her knife, ducking under the first blow to send it deep between the gaps of the rusty old power armour into the raiders skin.

The raider did stagger back, but only for a second and then she surged forward again, sending her spiked fist directly into the vault dwellers, under-protected midsection. 

Ribs cracked with a harsh snap. She gagged, unable to react before the second punch sent her flying back against the wall. This time though, as the raider surged forward she slowed suddenly, dizzy and overcome. The next hit was off centre, just as painful, but it gave the vault dweller enough time to ram the knife into a gap again. 

"What... What did you do?" The raider stumbled back a little, collapsing onto her knees as though suddenly overcome. A poison raced through her veins, slowing her down, holding her back. 

The sole survivor lifted herself from the ground, limped over to her enemy and ripped off the helmet protecting her and immediately fired a shot into her head to take her down. 

As the body collapsed to the wet ground with a thunk, the last of the vault dwellers strength seemed to drain. She fell back, gagging and gasping, holding her critically wounded abdomen to try to slow the bleeding. She wasn't done yet. She hadn't come this far to die in the mud alone. Still, her mind was hazy, everything hurt and all she wanted to do was close her eyes.

Dogmeat was at her side quickly, a worried whine and a lick on the face brought the woman back to reality. She reached out a hand to pet her loyal companion, then pulled herself to her knees then her feet.

Bracing herself against the wall the women out of time dragged herself around to the door, finding it to be of coarse locked. She groaned loudly, then took out a bobby pin. 

Every second was bringing her closer and closer to the darkness. Every hear beat sent a wave of pain and confusion. The lock clicked, though she didn't know how long it had taken, and she pulled the door open. 

"Blue!" An excited reporter chirped from behind a barred door at the back of the room. Her hands where tied behind her back, and she couldn't see the elders injurys in the dark. 

At just the sound of her voice the soul survivor smiled, dragging herself forward to unlock the final door. This one was harder, blood smeared on the lock and dripped down to the floor as it finally swung open. She coughed, ragged breathing starting to become more and more difficult. 

"Blue, your hurt." Pipers eyes widened with worry, even In this dark she could see the blood, hear her breathing. It made her pull at the ropes, wanting to be closer, wanting to help. 

"It's... Okay..." The vault dweller gave a soft smile, letting herself fall to the ground next to her friend on her knees. She pulled out her knife and cut the last rope, feeling it break in two and her fight finally won.

She collapsed forward onto her friend who's arms quickly came up to catch her. Piper immediately begun to panic. She was already cold, very cold, and the sticky feeling of blood was already soaking into her trench coat and they had only been here a few seconds. 

"Blue! Stay with me!" She put her arms around her lover, holding her close as she laid her back down onto the ground. Her body was relaxed, her breaths starting to come in slower. Just like that she begun to shut down. 

In her panic piper grabbed the woman's pip boy, turning on the light and casting it over to see the damage. Her abdomen had been torn open, blood was dripping out and worse still the reporter could see parts through her torn blue vault suit that she knew the other woman badly needed. 

"Your alright, it's okay." She tried to encourage, though tears where already coming to her eyes as she let her friends hand lay down next to her. "Hold on, your going to be okay." She got up, immediately searching for some Chems. Surely the raiders had some. Stimpacs, blood packs, anything! 

She rushed to what looked like a Chems cooler and threw it open, nothing. Them the old broken fridge, Still nothing. Finally she ran to the boxes on the floor, finding at last another chem cooler with a few blood packs and a stimpac. 

"Oh thank god." She raced back, her mind buzzing. It was her turn to feel the surge of adrenaline as she fought to keep her friend alive. 

She injected the stimpac first, straight into her chest, she had to work quickly or the women beneath her wouldn't survive. Then the blood packs, finding a spot in her arm to inject them was much harder now her blood pressure was so low. She did find one though, and pushed it into her system as quickly as she could. 

"Blue. You still with me?" She encouraged, hoping her words where still reaching the other wherever she was. "I need you to hold on blue..." It would take time for the stims to work, and she seemed to be bleeding to death faster then she was healing even with them. 

The Raven quickly stripped off her trench coat, then her softer shirt underneath, balling it up and pressing it against the women's stomach, pushing down lightly. She had to slow it down, there was no way the vault dweller would survive if she couldn't. 

The touch made her sick partner groan softly in pain, a fresh surge of it passing through her body and her nails digging into the ground. 

"I know, blue. I know." She tried to comfort, seeing her friend suffering horribly. Tears where already in her eyes, but they begun to fall as the vault dweller struggled beneath her grip. She was in agony. Clear agony, and there was no relief in sight. 

"Love you, blue." She kept the pressure on the wound, but leant a little closer to whisper it to her dying friend, trying to offer some encouragement. "So much... So hold on..." 

The Raven loosened her hold on the elders torn stomach to swap out the blood packs. One stimpac obviously wouldn't be enough, she needed more to get her through the worst of it. She looked around, the limited light from the portable computer didn't give her much to work with, but she was quick to spot the women's flare gun. 

If the Minutemen where around, they would have supplies! 

Working quickly she lifted her friends midsection, putting her trench coat under her and wrapping the arms rightly around the wound. It wasn't much, but it was better then nothing. The vault dweller groaned again in pain, gasping when she was lifted and tears streaked down her cheeks. The reporter could see the pain she was in, but wasn't about to give up on her yet. 

"Deep breaths blue. I'll be back." She encouraged, grabbing the gun and scrambling out the door and up the nearby hill as fast as her own tired legs would carry her.

As soon as she was high enough she fired off the first flare, quickly reloading to fire another. They would know it was an emergency, if they where close by the minutemen would be there as quickly as they could. She gave a quick look around on her way back, looking for any other Chems that might be stashed close by. Of coarse there was stuff around, lots of it, but most of it would cause her lover to die faster rather then hold her off until help arrived. 

Skidding on her knees to a stop, piper was back at her friends side as quickly as she could. 

"Still hanging in there," she moved one hand to press back down over the injury, and let her left hand softly touch the vault dwellers cheek.'

Her beloved blue was cold, wet, and shuddering. Her eyes where starting to loose focus. A weak hand reached up to grab onto the younger woman's arm desperately. A last ditch attempt to try to keep her grip on reality through wave after wave of pain. 

Piper could hear her heart beating in her ears, it was all she could hear over the pounding rain and her friends soft cries that where getting weaker and less frequent with every passing moment. She tried to hold back the tears, tried to fight how much it hurt to see her friend gasping her last breaths on the filthy floor of some raiders hide out, but she just couldn't. 

"Blue, look at me!" She called out, louder and more desperate then she intended as the elders eyes begun to dull and fixate. "Look at me, don't... Don't fall asleep!" She gave her lover a soft shake to try to bring her back around. 

The elder gave a slow blink and fought unconsciousness, managing to look up into her friends tears eyes. She was in so much pain, and her body was so tired. Every inch of her body had finally had enough, and her condition was worsening rapidly. Still she fought, trying to do what her friend was asking, trying to fight off the end as long as she could. It was getting harder though, each breath was getting more painful, each thump of her heart was starting to falter, it wouldn't be long now before she couldn't fight it any longer. 

The dying vault dweller tried to say something, wanting to comfort her friend or perhaps say goodbye, but words failed her. Her eyes said enough though, and through all the pain the reporter could feel her partners love for her, how hard she was fighting, how much she wanted to stay with her. In a way, knowing that only made it worse. She was still conscious, still breathing, and still in agony. 

"I've got you, blue. Just... Just a little longer..." Pipers tears fell, hitting the bloody mess and running down the broken vault dwellers arm to the floor. If they did arrive in time, she could use more stims to stop the bleeding. A surgeon could repair some of the damage, and maybe she would Make it. That's what the young Raven kept telling herself over and over again. It's aelse could think. Just a little longer.

Rain continued to hammer down, so hard she didn't even hear the footsteps approaching until a young red headed woman in an old hat and coat called out roughly. "General?!" She was at the elders other side before piper even registered the small group had arrived. "No..." 

The blood was leeching onto the floor, a dark sticky puddle. The lanterns they brought showed the full extent of blues condition. Tired fingers still held onto pipers now bear arms, though they where taking a blue tinge now she was loosing so much blood. Her eyes where bloodshot, her skin was pale almost white, and blood truly covered everything. 

"She's still alive, please!" The reporter looked up at the others pleadingly. They had to do something, anything! The vault dweller was there leader after all, they had to help.

A young, darker skinned boy moved next to the other, pulling out his stimpacs and injecting one into her chest again, close to the wounded area. The skin twitched when the needle was pulled put, and she gave a soft huff as another was inserted into her arm and finally, finally some pain relief was pushed into her overloaded system. 

"It's bad." The young boy looked up at his commander, he hadn't been doing this long but he already knew she wasn't going to survive without surgery. 

The commander nodded, putting her laser musket down at there side, untying the coat and lifting the shirt to inspect the damage, trying to make a mental note of her respiration rate and heart beat as she went. 

Piper took her friends hand, the one that had managed to hold onto her so long, and held it close. "It's okay blue. There gonna help you." She softly ran her fingers over the cool skin, thankful as the groans of pain where soon replaced by raspy breaths. 

The commander grabbed her sharp hunting knife and hacked through the leather straps of blues armour, then tore through the vault suit to free her and give them space to work on her badly torn body without it getting in the way. 

The vault dweller had done everything she asked, held on as long as she could, and piper couldn't help but be proud of her friend. Anyone else would have given in, anyone else would have already lost there lives. She was proud, even as her friend finally closed her eyes, to tired to go on, piper was proud. 

"I'll be here... when you wake up." She promised tearfully, gripping the hand tighter as the three Minutemen worked to tie off some of the veins. 

It was a rough surgery, none of them doctors even if they had been trained by them thanks to there generals insistence that it would help. They kept pushing more blood into her the whole time, trying to keep her stable enough to work on. Nothing was sterile, but they had little choice. She would be gone before they had a chance to get a real doctor in, she had to be worked on now with what they had. 

The Raven didn't know how long passed with them there like that, but it felt like forever, everything seemed to move in slow motion. All she knew was she felt it, the moment her love finally couldn't do it anymore, she felt that last exhale and then the stubborn refusal of the woman's chest to rise again though she clearly fought, gasping helplessly.

"Blue?" Piper moved her right hand to the women's cheek, her eyes going wide. "No! Blue!" She called out, letting that hand slip down to feel for a pulse that was still there though thready and fading fast. 

"Breathe blue!" She called out, tears coming in thick no fast as she gripped the lifeless hand tighter. 

The boy at her side injected another Stim, hoping that would be enough to restart her, all it did though was cause another faint gasp. Painful. Weak. 

Piper stroked her cheek for a second, hoping it would kick start her, but quickly realising it wouldn't. 

"Breathe! Breathe blue!" She called out again, this time pinching her friends nose and leaning down to push air into her friends cool body with her own. 

Her lips where cold. Unresponsive. She has always been so warm. Always. 

Piper tried again, another breath, another touch of her warm lips to the unresponsive cool ones. Then another. Her chest rose fully with each push, much more then it had when she was fighting for breaths. Another, this time when she pulled back there was a faint gasp, an attempt to suck in air herself that was met with nothing. 

"That's it." Piper softly encouraged and carefully took another deep breath and exhaled into her friends failed lungs. 

Nothing. 

Again.  
Nothing. 

Again. 

Faint gasp. 

Again. 

Nothing. 

"Give her another!" She called out to the group who where still trying to save there general, though they had all lost heart now. They injected the fourth Stim into her system, then rubbed the injection site, trying to get it into her bloodstream faster. 

Another breath, another failed gasp. Even now she was fighting, trying to hold on. It pushed piper on, encouraged her to keep trying too. The woman beneath her even managed to suck in a very weak little breath as the stims hit her system, but they didn't have long enough to work. She was fading to quickly. 

Piper put her head to her lovers chest, listening for a moment. The weak fluttering of the other women's heart told her all she needed to know. The vault dweller wasn't even circulating the stims in her blood, her heart quivered uselessly. 

"This is going to hurt, Blue." She whispered, having to take a moment to quietly settle herself before putting both hands in a ball in the middle of her chest. "I'm sorry." She pushed down hard, fast, again and again, pumping blood and the stims through a rapidly failing system. 

She paused, pulled back, and moved in to give her lover another slow breath before resuming compressions. Her heart didn't even have the strength to beat any longer, so the Raven would pump it for her. If blue was going to go, she was going to go with piper doing everything she could to keep the women with her. She didn't slow as fragile ribs cracked, breaking beneath her weight though each pained click brought on a new wave of tears. 

The minutemen thankfully felt the same about there general, continuing to sew, bind and force blood into the failed body as the reporter worked to revive her. 

After what felt like forever the wounded woman gasped and her body gave a shudder. Piper pulled back, putting her ear back down to the still woman's chest. The organ beneath her pumped slowly, quietly, but a quick feel of her lovers wrist told her she had a pulse again. 

Still she couldn't inhale, and the Raven continued mouth to mouth, reenergised by the sound of blood rushing through her veins again. "Your doing so well blue." She whispered between breaths, trying to encourage the dying women back. She was still very far away, but the improvement made everyone work harder, faster. They had managed to get her heart beating after all. 

"Commander." The youngest of them looked up, finally now working to bind the wound. None of there hard work would matter unless they had some way of getting her to a settlement where she could be treated properly. "I'm going to get help." 

The older Minutemen leader nodded, and the boy was up and running before they knew it.

There was another weak breath from the wounded vault dweller, and piper leant down to push for another. Filling her lungs with air made the woman gasp again, though more successfully now. With each of the reporters slow breaths into her lungs came her own weak, strained ones. 

"That's about all I can do." The eldest of the Minutemen begun roughly and firmly binding her stomach, hoping the pressure would take care of any damage she couldn't repair. 

The reporter gave a choked sob, if that was all they could do, it was up to her friend now. Normally that would be comforting. The sole survivor could do anything when she put her mind to it, she even took down the institute which had been the bane of the commonwealth for years. Now though, now she couldn't even breathe on her own.

It sank in slowly, if she couldn't get the women breathing again, she may have to let her go. It wouldn't be fair to keep her Alive and miserable here only to suffocate the moment piper stopped. She was gasping again now, but... That in and of itself almost cruel... 

She looked down at the pipboys screen, 1:25 am... They had been working on her for almost two hours...

"D-do you have one more..." She fought back the tears that where now falling freely enough to ask, "give it t-to her... Please..." Another blood pack, another Stim... And if she didn't show any signs of recovery or faded again, the reporter would finally let her friend pass away quietly. Hopefully with a rush of pain medication to keep her comfortable. 

The commander nodded, giving the last injection slowly and again rubbing the injection site. There general was a fighter, but even she was unlikely to come back after this much trauma. 

Piper leant down, running her fingers through her partners hair, wet and stuck together from mud and rain. She carefully parted the older women's lips and deeply pushed a breath into her. Slower this time, she didn't want her to die struggling. Hit tears kept running down her cheeks and onto her friends face. She wasn't even going to try to hide how much it hurt. 

"You okay there... Blue?" She snuffled softly, not expecting or needing an answer, "dose... Dose it still... Hurt?" She shook off the sick feeling that begun to rise as her friend gave another faint breathe. She closed her eyes and gave her lover another careful puff, it surprisingly did seem to help, the breath the vault dweller managed on her own after it was fairly strong, even making her body shudder as it tried to heal itself. 

"Stay with me..." She begged softly, stroking back her hair lovingly. She looked bad, very bad, but she was still trying. 

The elder gave a few more crackling breaths and a loud, strangled cough as the Chems finally took effect, setting everything back into motion for now. It was hard for piper to believe, but she was breathing. She had thought for sure when she had lost her lovers pulse she wasn't coming back. Still there was no getting around the fact she was gravely wounded. 

"Thank you so much." She hugged the tired body on the floor tightly. Even if she didn't make it now, even if she died on the way back to Dimond city, the reporter had a chance to fight for her the way she knew the vault dweller fought for her. 

The commander checked the women's pulse again, feeling a faint shiver start to set in. It might have been the mild hypothermia that saved her, really. Slowing the blood flow down just enough for them to work. 

Dogmeat who had been lying close by crept up and nudged her with his cool nose, his gentile way of trying to support his favourite human.

The minutemen stood up as there youngest recruit returned, seeing the still distressed reporter crying over there general naturally made him assume the worst. 

"Ma'm, I'm sorry I-" he started but was quickly cut off by his elder. 

"She's alive, very weak but breathing on her own." His commander gave him a firm clap on the shoulder to settle down his nerves. The last thing they needed was him loosing his head as well. "Is help coming?" 

Bright brown eyes stared back in shock for a moment before he could shake it off. "Y-yes! A carts coming, I err... Used some of the donation money to buy blankets, The settlers offered the cart on there own though!" 

If she hadn't made it, the boy intended to cover her in the cart so she and her gaping wound wasn't exposed all the way back to the castle where they would burry her. He respected the women who res erected the Minutemen to much to do that. Now though, the blankets could keep her warm. 

"We can get her back to the castle, it will take about twelve hours." The commander informed, "we'll be guarding the general on the way back, be ready for anything." 

The Raven lifted her friends head up off the ground and let her hand rest under it, trying to offer some comfort as her entire body shuddered. Hopefully she was completely unconscious, unable to feel the damage that piper knew she had inflicted on the pre war lawyer in there efforts to revive her. With any luck she would stay that way the entire road back. 

"I'm going to," she confirmed as though it even needed to be said. She wasn't going to abandon her now. 

There was a loud thunk and a bellow from a Brahman as the beast finally caught up with its cart. It looked sturdy having been made largely out of what as probably three or four different cars at one stage, stripped bare and bolstered together on wheels. 

"Ma'm, we have to get her into the cart." The commander stated, firm voice not wavering. She would be in danger when they lifted her, a slight bump would cause more rapid bleeding, probably internally that they wouldn't be able to fix. 

Piper knew that, and nodded anyway, letting the two soldiers lift her friend up and safely into the back, ontop of the warm but dirty woollen blankets that where only slightly damp from the rain. 

It was frightening how quiet she was, it would have hurt a lot to be man handled like this, but the vault dweller didn't even give a peep. 

Piper picked up the women's discarded gun, long forgotten on the floor of this place that she never wanted to lay eyes on again. 

The canine leant against her leg, a soft whine escaping and looking up into dark eyes with an expression full of worry. In his mouth was the reporters discarded coat, as though he knew she would be getting cold by now. 

"Thanks boy." She praised softly, reaching down to pet him and then pulling on her now bloodstained clothes. She looked back at the cart, it was fairly small and cramped, though she wondered if she would fit to. 

The vault dweller would be cold and stiff riding alone, if something happened it would take them longer to notice and worse, since it was built to carry goods and not people the cart was far to short for the women's legs, and piper was a little worried she would fall out. Cool water droplets splashed her lovers face, and her body gave another shudder. The reporter set her jaw, she wasn't going to let the vault dweller go alone.

Climbing up onto the board that served as a floor, she crawled over carefully and put her back to the short wall that had been built from a car bumper at the cows rear. She shifted a little to get more comfortable against the cold steal then slowly looped her arms under her friends and lifted her up into a warm embrace.

The body in her arms shuddered, giving the first quiet sign of consciousness for a long time in her eyes scrunching slightly. 

"Sorry." Piper whispered, pulling the covers over them and her own jacket around the shuddering women to try to keep the warmth between them. "Comfortable?" She asked quietly after a few moments when the vault dweller seemed to settle. 

She wasn't expecting an answer, but she got one, or close to one as her lover gave a soft moan and let her head fall into the crook of the younger women's neck. 

It got the Raven smiling again, though all the tears. She may not have been aware of what she had done, but the vault dweller let piper have her hope back. 

As the cart took off on the bumpy road, with the Minutemen and dogmeat trotting beside them to make sure no one came for them, piper tenderly stroked her wounded partners skin, talking to her in a quiet and loving voice. She hoped some of it was getting through, at least enough to let her friend rest easily. The rain slowed to a stop, but it was still freezing cold even as the sun begun to reach beyond the clouds.

The sun was well and truly up by the time the Raven got her first reply though, tired eyes scrunched against the sun and the vault dweller buried her head a little more into the younger woman's neck. 

"You okay blue?" Piper asked, worried about the sudden sign of discomfort after hours of riding fairly peacefully. 

It could be bad, pain wasn't a good sign, especially if it where sudden, so the reporter loosened her grip and moved to check on her friends condition as quickly as she could. The sudden loss of warmth and safety made the vault dweller give a dissatisfied huff. 

"N-no... C-come back..." A horse, raw voice broke out, sounding little like the soft and playful tone pipers partner, and it took a second to register with the young reporter. 

 

Piper paused, blinked slowly then smiled contentedly. "Didn't go anywhere blue." She lifted her friend back up, supporting her head against her shoulder. "I told you I'd be here when you woke up." 

"Mhm." The vault dweller wasn't sure what she was agreeing to, but she knew who she was with and that it meant she didn't have to worry. 

"Jeeze blue! You really had me going for a second there." Piper couldn't help but smile, looking down at her friend who was starting to wriggle a little, stiff and uncomfortable. "I thought I got myself into trouble, but you, your the master." 

The Raven could see her friends discomfort and tried to shift her up so she was sitting in her arms a little more naturally then she reached up and flicked off her cap, putting onto her friends head with the brim turned down to cast a shadow and shield sore eyes from the sun. It worked quickly and before the vault dweller could even get out a little thank you her eyes where closed and she was sleeping again. This time though, piper knew she was still alive in there. As weak and helpless as she was, her brain was still clicking over. So piper kept talking and they kept driving forward, the sun almost setting as they finally pulled into the castle. 

Preston sore them from a long way off, jogging down the steep stone stairs with one hand on the rail as soon as he recognised piper and there dog. The journalist cradled her lovers head, showing clear signs of exhaustion herself. Still she kept whispering softly to her beloved vault dweller. 

"piper?" Preston looked down at the pair confused, "General?" 

"She's hurt pretty bad," piper explained, her voice quiet not wanting to worry the women in her lap. "She's having trouble breathing and..." The Raven choked up for a moment, shaking off the memory of her lover gasping helplessly. 

The vault dwellers second in command moved to her side, taking in her injures. She was pale, cold, and her whole body seemed to rattle with every breath. Blood stained her cheek, and pipers hands, and everything else. 

"Alright, let's get her inside." He gestured to one of the men standing near by, who quickly disappeared and came back with a stretcher. Helping to carefully lift the wounded general off of her lover and onto the material.

"We can get her inside, if you ah, need a break." Preston looked up at piper, who was struggling to remain calm. Maybe she needed to clean herself off, get all the blood off her skin and calm down.

"I'm not leaving blue." Stubbornly piper pulled herself to her feet, exhausted from hours of fighting for her lovers life. Something in her broke a little when the hat that had been shielding tired eyes fell to the ground, when the woman gurgled and shifted. The Raven didn't stop to pick it up, she didn't feel like she had time. 

Her own body shook, but the reporter followed close behind, watching carefully as she was finally rolled into the bed, safely protected by the castles walls and in the privacy of her own quarters. They had been her before, many times, but this time it felt colder. 

As soon as the wounded woman was laid out on her back, piper was back at her side, looking over her body and taking her hand. It would be okay now, she told herself, now she could sleep it off, and they could medicate her properly. 

A tall, thin, blond woman, a doctor with minutemen, rushed in behind them. with her, she brought a large bag full of supplies, and the Raven couldn't help but hope at least some of that was for the pain. 

The doctor carefully pulled back the bandages, inspecting the full extent of the damage with caring eyes. She could see how bad the situation was, without even looking at the major wound, but would do everything she could anyway. With a small frown she set up another blood pack, then took her scavenged and dirty stethoscope to the women's bare chest, listening closely. 

The examination seemed to take forever for the reporter, who leant down to kiss her friend on the forehead when the doctor pushed on her chest and made her give a soft cry. She was still hanging in there, shuddering to hold on. 

The much older blond women looked to piper with knowing eyes, she could see that they cared for each other, and it broke her heart to have to tell her what she knew she was true. 

"Miss piper, is it?" The look in her eyes made the reporters heart sink. "Please follow me for a moment." 

"Y-yes." She replied, fighting back a new wave of tears. She couldn't let the vault dweller see her frightened. She got up, letting go of her friends hand and shuffling after the doctor. 

"Miss piper, the general seems to have some very bad internal bleeding, likely many of her organs have been damaged and there is fluid in her lungs. Most likely that's blood. Many of her lower ribs are broken. She is at the moment, still conscious though barely, and in a lot of pain." She begun in a firm but sympathetic tone.

Piper looked back at her friend, who now lay prone and shuddering on the bed. She looked miserable. 

"She's very far gone, but we do have a few options." The doctor caught the reporters attention again, directing her eyes back to her own so she could continue talking, "I can try to operate, I'd give a sedative, put a tube down her throat, someone would have to breathe for her while I open up her entire mid section, and try to repair what I can. I won't even know if I can do anything at all until she's open." 

Bile rose in the young reporters throat. She had never heard of such a major surgery going well out side of Dimond city. Even then, they never fully recovered. 

"You have to understand, chances of it going well are slim, more then likely she simply won't wake up." It was a roll of the dice at best, but she would be unconscious, out of pain. "If I open her up, and there's nothing I can do, you can say your goodbyes, and we will simply stop breathing for her." 

"I don't... I don't know..." She put her hands over her mouth, trying to steady herself and stop herself from vomiting. 

"The other option is, We can give her Chems to keep her out of pain, she will pass on her own in a few hours, days at the most." No traumatic surgery, no long recovery, no more fighting. Piper could hold her close, rub the back of her hand, kiss her cheek... The vault dweller would be safe and warm I her arms, and the medication would keep her comfortable. "We can also give her some support, blood packs and stims, she might come around but that's very unlikely." 

"Do I... Do I have a second?" Piper shook slightly in place, unable to make up her mind. She had already hurt her trying to revive her the first time. She knew she had done damage, heard ribs crack, felt her body shake. Was it fair to force her through even more then that, in hopes she might come around? 

Was it right to give up on her, after she fought so hard to stay by pipers side? When she against all odds gave everything to save piper? 

The doctor nodded, understanding the weight of the choice. There was no way the general could make it for herself anymore. She wouldn't hold it against the young women either way but she would do everything to make sure that there leader didn't suffer more then she had to. 

The Raven went back to her friends side, climbing up into the bed and pulling the frail body close to her, trying to shield it from the cold and further pain. She just couldn't hold back the tears anymore. 

"Love you blue." She whispered through her sobs, "so much... So... So much..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AS YOU WISH, DEAR READERS.

"Mam," the doctor interrupted the women's sobbing after a few long moments, "have you made any decisions?" Time wasn't on there side if they where going to fight for the elder women's life. If they weren't, she would quickly see her into a drug induced haze to soften the blow. 

Piper kissed her cheek softly, sitting up slowly and looking at the doctor, her eyes pleading for help. She couldn't let blue go, not without trying. 

"She will be unconscious, right? During the surgery..." The Raven hugged herself, looking over at her dying friend. 

"Right." The doctor confirmed, seeing those tired eyes take in the wounded women's every feature. 

She didn't want to remember blue like this, if something happened, but she still wanted to remember everything about the vault dweller. Leaning down she softly stroked cool cheeks, trying to clear her own mind and commit the feeling to memory.

"I'll stay with her." She wasn't going to leave, no matter how bad things got. It could be her last moments, and the sole survivor would not spend them on her own. 

"I really don't recommend that, you shouldn't have to see the general like that. If she passes, we will tell you first, you'll wait just outside the door." 

"I'm staying." Piper gripped her friends hand firmly, and maybe it was just her body's convulsions, but blue gripped back softly for a moment, setting her friends mind on the subject. 

"Alright- you where warned." the doctor nodded, heading out quickly to fetch someone else to assist. 

"I hope your okay with this, blue. Im still glad... The institute thawed you out just for me... I'm lucky, more then I deserve... thank you..." Piper leant down to kiss soft lips, a silent goodbye encase she didn't wake again. She could only hope her lover could feel it over the pain. 

The reporter slowly got up, moving to the head of the bed to give the doctors some room as they came back. She crouched down on her knees and let a hand shift through blood stained hair affectionately, whispering softly to her as the injection was given into her lovers far to pale arm. 

"Love you blue... I'm right here... I love you." The tears kept falling, piper tried to keep focused on just her friends damp hair and the cool feeling of her palm as it carefully ran over the exhausted body resting beneath her. She didn't want to see what they where going to do to her friend. 

Piper couldn't help but notice her lovers breaths grow faint, then stop. Not even a gasp this time, more like falling asleep. If they couldn't help her, that would be the last breath the vault dweller took on her own; and it would be burned into the Ravens memory. 

The doctor ushered her back, tilting the women's head back and putting a tube down her throat into her lungs, then attaching a self inflating bag the end, squeezing to make sure the breaths where going into the right place. 

Quickly the women in the lab coat handed the job off to her assistant, not wanting to waist any time in getting the dying women cleaned up and ready. 

Piper leant back in, putting a hand back to her friends cheek so she could stroke her softly, even if she couldn't feel the touch. It was an effort to try to settle herself as much as the one laying beneath her. 

She did glance up as they cut away the rest of the women's clothes, freeing her from anything that could get in the way and covering her from her hip down with a blanket. 

In the bright lights, piper could see just how mangled her friends body was, and just how much blood soaked through everything. She would have bled to death twice over if they hadn't been forcing so much fresh blood into her.

The vault dweller was quiet now though, still. Peaceful for the first time since they had been reunited. Peaceful and out of pain. 

Before the surgeon cut into her friend piper looked away, focusing back on her friends face and on whispering to her, talking her through what they would do when she got better. The tears burned paths down her cheeks as she spoke, knowing she probably wasn't heard. It kept the reporter from breaking down completely though, just focusing on something other then what was happening. 

A few times bloody fingers came up to feel the women's neck, looking for a pulse when the wounded women's condition seemed to drop or when they caused a sudden rush of bleeding. The Raven tried to keep calm, tried not to look down when the doctor called to her assistant worriedly. 

"She still with me?" She couldn't help but ask in a tired and shaken tone as the doctor checked again for signs the women beneath her knife was still alive. Blood had come up, quickly, and though they tied off what she had accidentally cut the doctor was in doubts that it has been fast enough.

"Thankfully." The doctor sighed and called for another blood pack to replace what has just been lost suddenly. 

Piper nodded, her whole body showing signs of the toll it was taking on her not only to be awake this long after such a stressful ordeal but now having to see her friend go through such a massive operation. 

"What I wouldn't give to be back In Dimond city, having a beer with you, blue..." She whispered, "You and me... The smell of ink... Nat selling papers outside..." Everything she cared about right there under one roof. "When you wake up blue, where going to have a break from all this. I'll get you better, and we can just relax for awhile." 

Piper looked up at the doctors, seeing them cleaning out the wound and immediately regretting it. Her stomach turned as the sight of her lovers entire midsection opened, pulled back with clamps and stuffed with bloody gauze around where they where trying to work. 

"God... blue... " She looked down, closing her eyes and trying to bring herself back to the moment. The room spun, and it took several minutes for the reporter to compose herself again. She knew the older woman was asleep, but couldn't help but feel torn open herself. She had agreed to do this, rather then let her die with some dignity. Even if they saved her, piper wasn't sure she would ever be alright again.

The tears ran harder and she put her forehead down to her friends, resting against her and letting out heart breaking sobs and shudders until her whole face was wet and red. 

Eventually piper ran out of tears, sitting half frozen with just her thumb softly stroking her lovers cool cheek. Time seemed to stop. Everything seemed to hurt. She doubted herself, doubted her choices. What if this isn't what her friend would have wanted? What if she would rather have just gone cuddled up and well loved rather then cold and naked in a blood soaked bed. The Raven could have held her, could have told the solve survivor just how much she meant to her and known the elder would have heard. Warm. Safe in the walls of the castle and her tight embrace. Maybe that would have been better? They could have had a proper goodbye, one last kiss to see her off... She could have died feeling comfortable and protected. 

The thoughts plagued the reporters mind for hours. It was all piper could do to keep stroking her friend soft skin to keep her from loosing touch with what was happening.

It almost made her Jump when a warm hand clasped her shoulder, the doctor looking down at her with tired eyes. "I've done everything I can." She explained softly, "the general seems to be stable, but we won't know until she starts breathing on her own. It was a 11 hour surgery, you did well to sit through it all." 

Piper blinked, rubbing her eyes with the back of her arm for a moment before looking over her friend. The wound was sewed shut, and had been cleaned up a little, though blood still clung to every other part of the vault dwellers body. The scar would run across her belly, and all the way up the middle to her sternum. It didn't matter, to the Raven, who just wanted to see those beautiful eyes open again. 

"I'll give her something to reverse the anaesthetic, she should start breathing on her own quickly if she's going to." But the biggest risk was that she couldn't anymore, that to much damage had been done and her body was beyond saving. "If she won't start breathing, we can try to resuscitate her manually. Stimpacs and a vigerious chest massage." But if they had to do that, chances are she wouldn't be coming back. The doctor new it, and piper knew it. 

"N-no..." She shook her head slowly, "I'll get her go... Blue... Blue wouldn't want to die like that..." The stims would bring her into consciousness, she would experience the pain of dying with them pushing on her wounded chest to try to circulate Chems, rather then just not waking up. 

Piper moved to her lovers side again, climbing into the bed on the opposite side to the doctor and pulling her near lifeless body in close. She was either going to wake up, or go quietly in her arms. 

 

The tired older doctor looked at piper then her patient, hoping the Raven was ready for what could happen. Tired fingers gripped a needle full of hot, red fluid, and with a flick to remove any air bubbles she carefully injected it into the generals arm. 

"It takes a moment..." She offered quietly, counting slowly to ten and then removing the tube from the injured women's throat. If they weren't going to revive her, it would only be in the way. 

Piper pulled her in closer and kissed her cheek, not seeing her chest rise made her heart sink. If she was going to die, it was best for her to slip away now, but she couldn't help but feel like everything in her was breaking. 

"Gonna breathe for me blue?" She whispered, tilting her head back a little to try to help. 

The doctor slowly lifted her friends wrist, checking for a pulse. She would either start breathing, or go into cardiac arrest. Either way, they would know quickly. 

"It's... It's okay... Im proud of you blue... You where so brave..." She sniffed, letting her hand travel down her lovers side in last little show of affection. "If you have to go blue... It's okay..." She kissed her friends forehead and scrunched her eyes shut.

There was a little shudder from the body in her arms, but it was hard to tell if it was death gripping her or her body trying to breathe on its own. Piper only hoped that whatever it was, it didn't cause her lover any more pain. 

"Love you..." She mumbled, her own body shaking hard. 

The doctor didn't let go of her friends wrist, still keeping time. It felt like it went on forever, but the vault dweller gave a soft cough, and started gasping on her own. Her whole body wracked with the force of it so hard that the doctor had to hold her legs down to prevent her from hurting herself. 

Piper held onto her lover, stopping her from hitting her head or grabbing at her chest. The body in her arms begun to shake violently, gasping and trying to grasp at the wounds. 

"Blue!" Piper called out to her friend, carefully cradling her and restraining her at the same time, just enough so that she couldn't tear out her own stitches. 

The sudden jolt that brought the sole survivor screaming back begun to die down and her body slowly settled. Gasping and huffing breaths short and fast, broken up by harsh coughs. She shook with pain, gripping her friends coat like a life line.

"Hey... Hey... shhh..." Piper carefully rocked her friend, now sitting up to try to hold onto her better. "Breathe... Your alright... Just Breathe..." 

"I'm sorry, she had a bad reaction." Most people would have just coughed to try to clear there own airways, but it had hit the vault dweller hard, probably due to the mucus in her lungs from such a long fight.

The Raven was torn between the deep despair of seeing her friend in pain, and the relief of feeling puffs of breath against her bare skin. She pulled her friend up, hoping a slightly more upright position would help her clear her lungs, and rubbed her back. 

"Can we give her something?" Piper looked up at the doctor pleadingly, though was met with the sight of an already prepared injection. 

"Hold her still," the women in the lab coat leant over, injecting the pain relief into the first vein she could find in the woman's arm. 

The medicine worked quickly and the vault dweller relaxed, her coughing dying down and the shuddering soon to follow. Tired eyes tried to make sense of the world around her, squinting and coming in and out of focus. 

"Hey there blue," piper couldn't help but smile when she sore the recognition in her friends eyes. "Didn't think I'd get to see those pretty eyes of yours again." 

She pulled her friend in closer, the thick smell of blood and the stickiness of everything she touched made her stomach turn again. All she wanted now was to make sure her friend was comfortable and to get into a warm bed with her wrapped up like children in blankets. "I'll get you cleaned up, then you can sleep it off okay?" 

The women in her arms didn't do much but shake in way of reply. She was in pain, and struggling just to make sense of what was going on. She thought she was dead for certain, she felt the life rush out of her while back at the raiders hide out. She would have been surprised to wake up, if she could find her way around those thoughts. 

"Can we have a tub? Warm water?" Piper asked, looking up at the minuteman hopefully. Warm water would help take the ache out of her injuries, and get the blood off. They had spare clothes here, thankfully so the vault dweller didn't have to lay around in a pool of her own blood. 

"Right away mam." 

As the assistant left, Preston coming in with dogmeat trailing behind him, a familiar hat in his mouth. 

"Excuse me, How is the general?" He asked the doctor, not expecting piper to be able to explain much of what just happened. It was traumatic, he was sure of it, and all the colour was drained out of her face like she had spent the night in a rad storm. 

"Well." The older women signed, looking back at her patient and the reporter cradling her for a long moment then back to the man in uniform. "She's breathing on her own, which is a start. There was massive damage to several of her organs and I can't tell if she will be able to keep anything down." She explained honestly, "I had to remove a large part of her intestines, they where ruined and she would likely die of infection if I didn't..." 

"Will she recover?" His dark eyes fixed on the doctor, Preston needed to know what to expect. He didn't want any flowery conversation that meant nothing to him. 

"I don't think she will..." The doctor replied with a sad sigh, running a hand through greying blond hair. "I think she could survive this, but I don't think recovery is even on the table. The best we can hope for is she is able to hold food and water down." She would probably need someone to help her for the rest of her life, and out here that was as good as a death sentence. "Might get her on her feet, we can only try. Worst case scenario, she can't keep anything down and waists away or her heart could still just give out from all the stress."

Piper tightened her grip on the elder woman's body, hopping for a second time that she has made the right choice and not just the selfish one. 

"Thank you." Preston have a half hearted solute then made his way to his friends side. He could see how badly the news effected her, the reporter was still hoping for a Miracle. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear." 

"It's okay." Piper shook her head, trying to clear the dark thoughts. "I'm just... really tired." 

Preston sat down at there side on the ground, looking over the fresh incisions. The doctor had don't a good job, considering. Everything was bruised and dark, but the bleeding had stopped and everything was sewn closed. 

"Your really something general." He shook his head, "Ive seen a lot of things but surviving that." 

Piper smiled a little at her friend, letting her grip relax a little and remembering how lucky they where to get this far. 

"Yeah, she's somethin' alright. Running into a raider camp, guns blazing. A whole gang gone in one night and the damsel in distress saved... It would make a great story..." There was a certain bite of bitterness to pipers voice, but the sole survivor leant in a little, having a small relaxed smile of her own. The excited tone in her storytellers voice always brought a smile to her face, even when she didn't fully understand the story. It felt safe. Upbeat tone driving away the fear of confusion. "It would make a better one if the hero survived..." 

"Don't count her out yet, piper. The generals always come through for us before." 

"I'm not." She shook her head again, happy to finally see the bucket of hot water bought there way. It wasn't much, but it would definitely make them both feel better. "Preston-" 

The polite Preston raised both his hands quickly, "say no more, I'm going." He knew they would want privacy, and he would have to hunt down the best matrices they could find to replace the one now soaked through in there generals blood.   
"Thanks." 

Dogmeat looked up at the pair and whined, hat still in his grips. He was worried, clearly, eyes wide like a seal. 

"Aww. Sorry boy, didn't mean to worry you. Come here." She reached out to the dog who quickly trotted over, giving the hat back to the Raven and then leaning in to inspect his favourite human. "It's alright, we'll take good care of her." 

The dog gave a low bark, sitting himself down by there side as piper carefully moved her friend down onto the floor, so they where both on the rug that covered the floor. The pain killers where strong enough that the vault dweller didn't fuss, though she did hold on a little tighter to pipers coat when the movement made the world spin even more then it had been. 

"Okay blue, Your going to have to lay here for a minute on your own okay?" She laid her friend down on her side, making sure her airways didn't get blocked as she moved her, "I'll be back." 

She didn't want to put her friend on the ground, but the reporter needed to get the filth off of her. It was freeing to be rid of her coat pants and boots, all stuck to her skin now, and smelled of death. Still piper rushed, pulling out new clothes for them both and heading back to where her lover lay helpless, her eyes now closed and shivering in the cold. 

"Sorry," she whispered, lifting her back up into her lap and taking the sponge, dipping it in the water and then slowly running it over her friends neck and shoulders where blood was clinging to her uncomfortably. 

The vault dweller relaxed there, it was easy when she was being treated better then she had since waking up in the waistland. Even as sick as she was, she leant in, happy for the warmth and attention. 

Slowly all the blood was washed away, and piper managed to pull a far to big dark shirt over her lover. She wouldn't bother with pants for now, just the shirt to help keep her warm. She cleaned herself off as she went, and changed into a dark, roughly repaired pair of pants and a comfortable shirt. Chances are, she was going to spend a lot of time laying with her lover, so they might as well be comfortable. 

There was a knock at the large, pre war wooden doors and a firm voice from the other side reached there ears. 

"May I come in, I've got something for you." Preston called, not wanting to barge in and interrupt anything. 

"Yeah, come on in." She pulled the sheet back over her lovers waist, covering her. "All cleaned up, right blue." There was a sigh from her tired friend, even keeping her eyes open was exhausting. 

"I've got some supplies. You can give me a yell if you need anything." 

"Thank you so much." She was happy to see the old mattress dragged away and replaced, but Happier still to see thick blankets pulled up for the first time in so long. She wouldn't freeze to death at least. 

"Don't mention it, take care of our general." Preston helped the pair back into the freshly made bed, checking her wounds just to make sure nothing had re opened before stepping away. "Goodnight piper." 

"Thanks." She whispered again, pulling the vault dweller in close and the blanket over them both. Finally, finally they could sleep. Whatever happened now, would happen but her blue wasn't going to be cold or frightened or alone for any of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay before you all run off! 
> 
> I have two endings for this, one where piper attempts to save the vault dweller, one where she just try's to keep her comfortable. 
> 
> So-  
> Which ending do you want to read? Why? 
> 
> You won't know how each option is going to turn out, so your only choosing as piper here. To fight or not to fight.
> 
> Hahaha yes yes I know I'm an evil bitch it happens. I'm gonna let you decide.


End file.
